Tuesday, July 7, 2009

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."Jack London

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday."Don MarquisAh yes, my old friends (Procrastination and Inspiration, not Jack and Don), how appropriate this week as I complete 2 months worth of projects in 3 days...

Sunday, November 16, 2008

“…encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”Titus 2:6-8

Man, there are quite a few Pop Warner coaches I would like to beat soundly over the head with this one...

"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before... He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way."Kurt Vonnegut

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I know that's not what they say, but I'm supposed to be doing other things so I ain't looking it up... reminds me of my sister singing Kenny Loggins** -- "I'm all right, don't nobody butterfly me"**yes, she is so old Kenny Loggins songs were on the radio...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

"When you win, nothing hurts"

Joe Namathand when you lose every game for the 2nd straight season, it hurts only the coaches, but not for long, 'cause the players don't know or care about winning as long as there are snacks and cool trophies...

Friday, May 30, 2008

“I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” Malcolm X

“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin

Friday, March 28, 2008

"It's like if you plant something in the concrete and if it grow and the rose petal got all kinda scratches and marks, you ain't gonna say 'damn, look at all the scratches and marks on the rose that grew from the concrete..' you gonna be like 'DAMN! a ROSE grew from the CONCRETE'"

Sunday, February 17, 2008

"But Tonto he was smarterAnd one day said kemo sabeKiss my ass I bought a boatI'm going out to sea""If I Had A Boat""And I said ooh give back my heartchip-kicker redneck womanTake your boots and walk out of my life""Give Back My Heart"PontiacLyle Lovett

"...Then they came for the Socialists, but I was not a Socialist, so I didn't respond. Then they came for the Jews and since I was not a Jew, I didn't respond. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me."quoted in The Freedom Writers Diary

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

"If you tell the truth, does the fact that nobody's listening make it a lie?"K.J. Parker, The Escapement"If a tree fell in the forest, She didn't hear it, would I still be wrong?"The Notorious Cherry Bombs"It's Hard To Kiss The Lips At Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long"

"Being a pacifist between wars is as easy as being a vegetarian between meals."Ammon Hennacypacifist, anarcist, never paid taxes"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."Leo Tolstoy"There are different forms of anarchy and different currents in it. I must, first say very simply what anarchy I have in view. By anarchy I mean first an absolute rejection of violence."Jaques Ellulphilosopher

Sunday, December 2, 2007

"We can never do merely one thing.""Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons."ecologist Garrett Hardin

Hardin was primarily concerned with "bioethical" issues such as overfishing and deforestation, but his work also brought attention to the personal-to-global effects of every decision and action (or inaction) -- think ripples in a pond, think Jurassic Park and Jeff Goldblum's "Chaos Theory" of the butterfly wings causing hurricanes... or think of The Fixx.

"I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, nor by any other church. Sin lies only in hurting others unnecessarily. All other 'sins' are invented nonsense."Robert A. Heinlein

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

It's funny (or ironic?), but I a few days after posting this my Dad and I had a heated (yet civil) discussion about the choice to do violence to another person. Under our violence conversation was of course the issue of the righteousness and glorification of war, the current one and others, but seeing as how we were out in the carport on thanksgiving night, Mom decided the convo needed to be cut short. But part of what he was saying was that there is not only the choice to do violence (i.e., drop the bombs) but also the choice to receive the violence -- to be in the place where the bombs will be dropped... Does this have merit? Or is it rationalization to assuage guilt?

Sunday, November 18, 2007

"A woman's guess is much more accurate than a man's certainty."R. Kipling"A woman moved is like a fountain troubled, Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty,And while it is so, none so dry or thirstyWill deign to sip or touch one drop of it."W. Shakespeare thanks, Bro, although I hope you didn't just call my woman thick and bereft of beauty...

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

“Great literature should make us squirm, question, debate, complain, and celebrate—its ability to evoke thoughtful or emotional responses is what makes it great. Like fire, it can illuminate, burn, and even pave the way fornew growth.”

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

"I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

"The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live.” Jane Addams (1860-1935) “Try not to become a man of success, but rather, try to become a man of value.”Albert Einstein

Monday, July 23, 2007

Monday, July 16, 2007

"Stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man," Freeman says to Wallace. "And I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace. You know me as Morgan Freeman. You wouldn't say, 'Well, I know this white guy named Mike Wallace.' You know what I'm sayin'?" Morgan Freeman (obviously)

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

“He who thinks he knows, doesn’t know. He who knows that he doesn’t know, knows. For in this context, to know is not to know. And not to know is to know.” Tao-te ChingI don't know for sure if I know what this means, so does that mean I know what it means?

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

"We're terrible animals. I think that the Earth's immune system is trying to get rid of us, as well it should.""Perhaps, when we remember wars, we should take off our clothes and paint ourselves blue and go on all fours all day long and grunt like pigs. That would surely be more appropriate than noble oratory and shows of flags and well-oiled guns. "

"Go take a flying **** at a rolling doughnut,""If you can do no good, at least do no harm." "...[freedom of speech] isn't something somebody else gives you. That's something you give to yourself. ""You realize, of course, that everything I say is horseshit. ""So it goes."

Thank you, Mr. Vonnegut, for the inspiring, shocking, blessing magic of your life and work.